STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Executive chef Gaspar Stantic's name might be familiar to those coming from the Dallas area: His string of restaurants attracted quite a bit of fans. Staten Islanders will soon get to know the Swiss-born, Tottenville resident as the new toque in charge at DoSI Caffe. The Stapleton restaurant also has new owners, Al and Steven Calascione. Last week, Gaspar spread his resume and menu drafts across a brown linen cover on Table Number Five, then leaned into his seat a bit pulling his elbows back. Kitchen battle scars on his forearms - evidence of a seasoned chef who physically works the line - stood out like white tattoos. The chef's first eatery, Gaspar's, received four stars from a Dallas food critic; subsequent ventures (five full-service a la carte operations in all) earned raves from locals. Eventually, he sold the first restaurant to fund the growing empire. Finally, the whole operation became a headache - a chef or two doesn't show, etc.- and Gaspar sold all but one property. He still owns a catering hall in The Lone Star State, Venetian Terrace, which family manages in his absence. FRESH, NEW MENUS Perfectly poached lobster tail is the centerpiece of a chilled salad presented with orange segments and arugula. New lunch and dinner menus launch tomorrow at DoSI. Chef Gaspar introduces salads such as farro tossed with mushrooms, fresh herbs, purple cauliflower, goat cheese and sherry vinaigrette plus several hot or cold appetizers. He presents combinations like seared scallops topped with lobster-corn sauce - that would be a hot dish - and chilled, house cured salmon presented with lump crab meat and caviar vinaigrette. Farinaceous items include a straightforward spaghetti with meatballs along with the divine: sweet corn risotto with shrimp and pancetta finished with truffle oil. Entrees feature weiner schnitzel of pork tenderloin dressed in lemon-caper sauce as well as porcini mushroom-braised short ribs with Petite Syrah sauce. Desserts of molten lava cake and pound cake with macerated fresh fruit are housemade. Seafood figures greatly into the menu at DoSI. "With Yellow Fin tuna, I take the loin, cut it and put fois gras on top. I put another layer of tuna, put chives and lemon oil on top," said the chef, adding that applying straight lemon juice will cook the fish. But that lemon juice plays a great role in ceviche, a cold appetizer. "With that, I change the seafood all the time," he said. He suggests using halibut, sea bass or salmon as the centerpiece for the dish. - Pamela Silvestri Critics' Pick With its miniature pine trees wrapped in tiny white lights and spiraling wrought-iron doorframe, this spiffy Italian spot gleams on a dark and dreary strip of Bay Street. DoSi stands for Downtown Staten Island, a 21st century moniker created in hopes of bringing a little Soho to the North Shore of the island. The brick-walled dining room is ever-toasty via the flickering hearth adorned by a stone Victorian lion head. Decorative touches like arches of glimmering copper above the picture windows and warm, cherry wood-stained floors and chairs amp up the cozy factor. Best, the modern-Italian menu offers creative fare that will hold your attention, such as the ravioli "lollipop" starter that wraps savory ground chicken and Swiss chard in slip-thin pasta dough on a long bamboo toothpick, and the daily risotto that manages to maintain both texture and creaminess (especially lovely with sage, chicken stock, and cubes of butternut squash). Desserts aren't phoned in, either; all are homemade, like the simultaneously soft and crumbly rich hazelnut chocolate cake and the basket of wrapped and beribboned homemade biscotti, yours for the taking on the way out. - Amy Zavatto